Read about Briana Holland ’ s firsthand experience as a student on the Academy ISD bus .
Coming Together During a Crisis
one of those surreal moments ,
“ It ’ s where you first stop and repeat to yourself what was just said , and then realize this is something you ’ ve practiced for ,” says Dominic Lucia , MD , medical director of the Emergency Department at McLane Children ’ s Hospital , and assistant professor of emergency medicine at Texas A & M Health Science Center College of Medicine . Dr . Lucia was speaking about his reaction when he learned a tractor-trailer had flipped a school bus full of students on their way to an Academy ISD school . Thirty-two people — 29 of them children — were involved in the accident .
Dr . Lucia activated the hospital ’ s disaster response system and began mobilizing resources . Nurses , physicians , technicians , and support personnel from both McLane Children ’ s and Scott & White Memorial Hospital - Temple , assembled quickly in the Emergency Department , all wanting to help . He and Danny Little , MD , trauma medical director , chief of pediatric surgery , and assistant professor of surgery at Texas A & M Health Science Center College of Medicine , began creating small , dedicated teams to deliver care .
“ It was a galvanizing moment for the hospital staff ,” Dr . Lucia says . “ Everyone remained very calm , despite the frenetic pace once patients began arriving . Emergency Medical Services did a beautiful job of triaging and prioritizing patients .”
Dr . Little soon called upstairs to the operating room to request that they delay all surgeries . “ You prepare for the worst , hope for the best , and start assessing each child as they arrive . Not knowing what injuries we may have encountered , we needed to ensure that each child would be taken care of in the most expeditious manner possible .”
The response to the accident illustrated beautifully the benefit of being part of a system , Dr . Lucia says . “ In a mass casualty situation like this , both hospitals were equipped to accept patients . If the situation had involved a busload of adults , we would have been able to receive patients from Scott & White Memorial Hospital as well .” The McLane Children ’ s staff also was challenged with meeting the emotional needs of distressed parents and families . Social workers , child life specialists , and chaplains escorted family members to an area where they were able to remain until their child was assessed and settled into a treatment room .
About eight hours after the first patient arrived , the Emergency Department at McLane Children ’ s was once again quiet . A myriad of tests and procedures , including 27 flash CT scans , had been performed , and 20 children had been treated . “ The staff performed with the precision of a NASCAR pit crew ,” says Ellen Hansen , RN , chief nursing officer and chief operating officer of McLane Children ’ s . “ Overall , we handled the incident extremely well . The single most frequently heard remark was how calm everyone was . Not only were all the children involved in the incident well cared for , but existing patients were equally attended to as well . Our staff demonstrated in word and action how essential McLane Children ’ s is to the community .”
The impact of this accident reached much further than the walls of McLane Children ’ s Hospital . To read about one student ’ s firsthand experience , and how Scott & White continued caring for the community after the accident , visit swcatalyst . org . n
A dedicated interdisciplinary team of healthcare professionals ( a small group of them pictured here ) from McLane Children ’ s provided exceptional care to students injured in the bus accident . sw . org | Summer 12 The Catalyst 11